For generations, the Burdens were one of the wealthiest families in New York thanks to the inherited fortune of Cornelius “The Commodore” Vanderbilt. By 1955, the year of Wendy’s birth, the Burden’s had become a clan of overfunded, quirky and brainy, steadfastly chauvinistic, and ultimately doomed bluebloods on the verge of financial and moral decline—and were rarely seen not holding a drink. In Dead End Gene Pool, Wendy invites readers to meet her tragically flawed family, including an uncle with a fondness for Hitler, a grandfather who believes you can never have enough household staff, and a remarkably flatulent grandmother.

At the heart of the story is Wendy’s glamorous and aloof mother who, after her husband’s suicide, travels the world in search of the perfect sea and ski tan, leaving her three children in the care of a chain-smoking Scottish nanny, Fifth Avenue grandparents, and an assorted cast of long-suffering household servants (who Wendy and her brothers love to terrorize). Rife with humor, heartbreak, family intrigue, and booze, Dead End Gene Pool offers a glimpse into the fascinating world of old money and gives truth to an old maxim: the rich are different.

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Quotes & Awards

“In this dark and humorous memoir Wendy Burden takes us inside the family circus that was her side of the Vanderbilt dynasty, bringing American class structure, sibling rivalry and the decline of the bluebloods vividly to life. It is a wonderful read.”

“This blueblood tale is spun so deftly and so charmingly that it is easy to forget that this it is essentially a sad story of family neglect and degeneration. Burden joins the ranks of such memoirists as Augusten Burroughs and David Sedaris, who have successfully mined their dysfunctional childhoods for comedic gold.”

Booklist

Listener Opinions

by Shannon | 2/6/2014

" Ugh - finished this book and wish I had not bought it. Review to follow. "

by Jan | 1/13/2014

" Started this on vacation instead of Paris Wife. Good writing and very funny-- will cause you to laugh out loud at times. Sad life in many ways but seems like she has made the best of it. I enjoyed reading it. "

by Hannah Spector | 12/23/2013

" Super rich people be super crazy. "

by Elle | 12/16/2013

" Well this is a complicated book about a complicated family, the Vanderbuilts. The author portrays an eccentric and dysfunctional upbringing amidst great fortune. Yes, the rich are different. But it is the seething hatred of her family that most comes across in this book. Wendy spends her childhood racking up resentments against every single person she comes in contact with, from grandparents to mother to brothers to nurses and governesses and chauffeurs, chefs. Nobody is spared. Why is she so angry, one asks? Is it because she is given everything she needs? No, she wants a pony for Christmas and doesn't get one. Her brother does, so he is immediately on her hit list. I wish the author some peace, as she has suffered greatly, growing up in the lap of luxury. We should all be so cruelly treated. "

" An interesting story of the life in a family with inherited wealth from the time of the robber barons. No heavy lifting needed to read this one, but an interesting read. "

Robin | 11/4/2013

" The book was purported to be a true story. It would have been more interesting if I cared about any of the characters, but I didn't. Some books have characters that are flawed but still endearing in some ways. These people were selfish and weird and I couldn't care less about any of them. To me that is essential in a book, I have to care how things turn out for at least one character in a book. So I can't recommend it. "

Blaise | 10/18/2013

" Another crazy family memoir. This one comes from a slightly different perspective as they are both dysfunctional and rich. Burden's writing was pretty funny at times. "

Liz | 9/25/2013

" This book proves to me that we all put our pants on One Leg At A Time. It's just that some of us can hide it better than others with a little help from "Ben Franklins". "

faiche13 | 9/6/2013

" An amusing look into growing-up wealthy and ignored. It's difficult to follow as the stories jump around all over the place. But there are a few laugh-out-loud moments as told by a charming, macabre little girl. "

Jennifer | 7/12/2013

" This book is a memoir detailing the lives of the famous Vanderbilt family. It has some laugh out loud moments and is a validation that everyone's family is a little crazy. It did get to be a little long, but was interesting to read. "

Rebecca | 7/9/2013

" Great non-fiction, darkly funny tales of Wendy Burden's spoiled rich childhood with an absent mother and eccentric grandparents. I wish she had included more of the grandeur; there were times when the writing didn't convey the impossible wealth as clearly. "

Karina | 4/13/2013

" Loved this book. Haven't read a dark humor this well done in a long time. "

Susan | 1/29/2013

" I didn't like this much. I read about half, then skipped through to the end and read the last couple of sections. It was distastefula and kind of boring. "

Katherine | 9/13/2012

" Bizarre look at an interesting and wildly wealthy American family. "

Jessica | 8/6/2012

" Fairly entertaining. The order of events and writing was choppy. "

Holly | 4/20/2012

" Yawn. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen. It didn't. Wendy Burden has a fun, entertaining writing style, but it wasn't enough to carry the book. I gave it up only a quarter of the way into it. "

Mila | 3/12/2012

" Love the writing, subject matter is disturbing and fascinating at the same time. "

Melyssa | 2/13/2012

" I had heard this book was funny, so I guess my expectations were high. The whole book was pretty sad, and the author seems to have a fixation on bathroom humor. Not really my cup of tea. "

Care | 1/6/2012

" Just not my cup of tea. Too much dark covered up with attempts at humor. "

Cindy | 11/26/2011

" The rich ARE different! "

Tobi | 11/11/2011

" A real look into a rich family and how weird and messed up they are. "

Nicole | 10/20/2011

" Not sure why I felt the need to finish a book I did not like. I just kept thinking it was not as bad as Selma's Sense of Snow... "

Sara | 8/21/2011

" Hilarious! I can't wait for her next book. "

Jill Delaney | 7/15/2011

" I liked it. I am always curius about the rich and who better to tell that story than a Vanderbilt! "

Maureen Flatley | 6/2/2011

" One of the best memoirs I have ever read.......a recollection of growing up a Vanderbilt that reads like a cross between one of the Eloise books if written by Wednesday Addams. Touching and hilarious. Would make a fantastic book club selection! "

Lori Ann | 5/27/2011

" Very well written. Sure glad I didn't grow up in that house. "

Renee | 5/25/2011

" Memoir of Wendy Burden and her crazy life among rich relatives and an absentee mother. It was interesting and at some parts quite disturbing.
"

Nicole | 5/23/2011

" Highly entertaining if you are morbidly interested in the screwed-up lives of America's richest families--I sure am.
"

Cheryl S. | 5/7/2011

" A little "glasscastle-esque" but with lots more alcohol and money.
"

Holly | 4/25/2011

" Yawn. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen. It didn't. Wendy Burden has a fun, entertaining writing style, but it wasn't enough to carry the book. I gave it up only a quarter of the way into it.
"

Amy | 4/16/2011

" Ah - interesting enough but not really outstanding.
"

Nicole | 4/16/2011

" Not sure why I felt the need to finish a book I did not like. I just kept thinking it was not as bad as Selma's Sense of Snow...
"

Wanda | 3/31/2011

" side-splitting funny. The Vanderbilt's never saw this coming.
"

Jennifer | 3/28/2011

" So outlandish at times, I suspect its complete veracity, but still hilarious and delicious. Given all the bad behavior, the "acceptance" at the end didn't ring true for me, but this book is so fun, I really didn't care. How the other .01% lives, indeed.
"

Cindy | 3/26/2011

" Funny and sad. Great quick read. Oh, the idle rich....
"

Alison | 3/18/2011

" The glimpses into the lives of inherited mega-wealth had their fascinating moments, and Burden's mother was a piece of work who is amusing to read about but who must have been horrible to have as a mother. However, the book doesn't have much point to it.
"

About the Author

Wendy Burden is a confirmed New Yorker who, to her constant surprise, lives in Portland, Oregon. She is the great-great-great-great granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, which qualifies her to comment freely on the downward spiral of blue blood families. She has worked as an illustrator, a zookeeper, a taxidermist, and as an art director for a pornographic magazine, from which she was fired for being too tasteful. She was also the owner and chef of a small French restaurant, Chez Wendy. She has yet to attend mortuary school, but is planning on it.

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